ARTS Pick: The Legwarmers

Raid your closet for those acid wash jeans and feather your hair back because the pop culture of the ’80s has come full circle. Naturally this requires a soundtrack, so Gordon Gartrell and Cru Jones, after hearing one too many bogus covers of their favorite decade, decided they weren’t gonna take it, gathered four similarly-minded individuals, and formed The Legwarmers, quickly taking the nouveaux retro scene by storm. While everybody’s working for the weekend, they flashdance to the gnarliest years in recent memory night after night.

Thursday 2/22 MerleFest on the Road gives added exposure to the players at (the late) Doc Watson’s popular Americana music festival in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Chicago’s soulful five-piece The Way Down Wanderers, laidback Nashville bluegrass act The Barefoot Movement, and seasoned folk

In April 2017, Monticello High School student Joshua St. Hill began writing a play. He had been bitten by the theater bug during the school’s production of In the Heights, and his drama teacher, Madeline Michel, asked if he’d like to write something for the stage. He did. Black men who have

When I was a tween writing “X-Files” fan fiction, I never suspected my interest in storytelling would lead to an actual career as a writer. But then I enrolled in the creative writing program at a performing arts high school—and discovered my creative power. Dozens of local arts organizations

With the release of Black Panther, it’s tempting to reflect on how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come in 10 years, and how it has essentially reinvented the film industry and become the standard bearer for quality mass entertainment in a genre that has rarely risen above

In the warm glow of a few strings of lights strung above the dance floor of the Music Resource Center auditorium, Ike Anderson leads a group of dancers through a hip-hop routine, demonstrating each toe touch and head bob as he calls: “One and two and three and four, five and six and seven and

A variety of techniques, budgets and effects come together at the 19th annual Animations Show of Shows. The festival traverses themes of societal trends and modern anxieties with 16 screenings including The Burden, a quirky stop-motion short about how being trapped in a routine life makes the

Asher McGlothlin perfectly captures the spirit of his childhood in the Appalachian Mountains, as well as the leap from teenager to adulthood, on his January 2018 debut EP Bardo, which takes its name from the Buddhist term describing the halfway place between death and rebirth. Able to be both

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox can be summed up in three words: musical time travel. The group, founded by pianist and arranger Bradlee in 2009, takes listeners on a journey across decades, playing songs from the modern era—everything from the party pop of Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga to the

Imagine the thousands of hands that have held the spine of a library book, the fingers that have turned the pages. Imagine the moments in history that have intersected with the text through the lives of its readers. Beginning in 2015 and ending in June of 2017, a project called Book Traces @

This whole thing started as porn, right? Like, I’m not making that up, am I? I don’t say that to ridicule anyone’s idea of what’s sexy—you do you and have fun doing it, don’t apologize if no one’s getting hurt—it’s just puzzling to sit through a silly, directionless adoption/kidnapping intrigue

Do we continue to have time to admire the still life? In a world where disposable and looping ultra-high resolution video pops from the phones in our pockets, the composed scenes of the genre require more from our attention. The art form that originated with painting centuries ago has been

There are certain musicians whose style is so unique that any snippet of their music is immediately identifiable. Multi-instrumentalist Keller Williams is one of those artists. A staple on the jam scene and the festival circuit for nearly 25 years, Williams has created a singular sound, which

A blank canvas. That’s what Marie Landragin sees in her mind’s eye when she’s about to play guitar with Free Idea. Just before the first note rings out, she sees a frame, some material, potential for the space to become anything. When the music starts, she says, it begins painting forms, “and

Xylouris White Mother (Bella Union) “Goats are mothers, Zeus was raised on Amaltheia’s milk, Black Peak is Mother Earth. …Mother Earth is the mother of everything.” Giorgos Xylouris thus explains his duo’s third album, the first two being Goat and Black Peak. It’s inscrutable and

With her new book, Sketchbook Dares: 24 Ways to Draw Out Your Inner Artist, artist, writer and teacher Laura Lee Gulledge challenges anyone of any skill level to draw. The former Louisa County art teacher says, “It’s the sort of book I wish I’d had starting off as a teacher but also as a

As religious war ravaged central Europe in the early 17th century, cultural establishments in Germany suffered great losses including gigs for musicians and venues for performances—so, it’s no wonder that powerful works were composed in respite during this time. Small ensemble Zephyrus captures

Since the day he ripped through “Johnny B. Goode” at age 5 while sitting in with his father’s band, people have had their eye on Marc Broussard. His ability to blend classic R&B, rock and soul is enriched by his unique musical style, fueling a loyal fan base since the release of his debut

Since his early teenage years in suburban England, Declan McKenna has had a rebellious streak. Now, at 19, he blends his own brand of indie pop with politically charged issues to make his views known through music. Influenced by David Bowie and The Beatles, his melodies are making a massive

Enter: a lively dinner party. Lots of crosstalk. Women in a startling array of historical costumes. There’s Isabella Bird, a 19th-century globe-trotter and well-educated author. There’s Joan the Pope, a ninth-century intellectual who lived as a man and briefly became the pope. There’s Dull

Noah Gundersen recently saw the world’s largest easel. He says that the roadside attraction, located in Goodland, Kansas, is a whopping 80 feet tall with one of Vincent van Gogh’s sunflower paintings stretched across it. That stop, like many, is just one of the perks of having a good tour